Posts tagged “african”

Bodys Isek Kingelez was born in what was then Belgian Congo back in 1948. He originally worked as a restorer of tribal masks at the National Museum of Kinshasa to support himself. But by 1985 he was able to focus on his art full time, and since then he has had big success as an artist. Bodys Isek Kingelez has become world renowned for his fantastic architectural models, made from cardboard and recycled scrap materials. He is regarded as a sculptor and artist, but why not recreate his cityscapes in full size? A city based on Kingelez’s models would be such a funky place to be, compared to the evil corporate urban environment that (literally) overshadows everything nowadays.

Moustapha Alassane was born in Niger in 1942. Originally a mechanic, he discovered the art of animation on a trip to Canada, sponsored by French filmmaker Jean Rouch. His animation style is uniquely African, mostly starring naively drawn frog characters and commenting on the (then) newly independent African nations with surrealistic satire. He draws directly on the film roll, cleverly avoiding the trouble of transferring the animation from paper.